pie pastry

Rustic Pie Dough /  by Judy Kim

by Judy Kim

Rustic Pie Dough

Yield: Two 8 to 10-inch single-crust pies or one double-crust pie

This is a no-fuss dough recipe made without a food processor or pastry cutter. Living proof that pastry can be made on a hot Summer day but still be delicious and flaky. I made this on a trip to Charleston, SC in August, so you can imagine the high humidity in an already hot kitchen. Needless to say, it was not an ideal situation for baking. Since I was in the South, the use of lard just seemed apropos and I paired it with my favorite high butterfat European butter. Most likely the reason this rustic thrown together dough tastes so delicate despite the thrown together process.

I would suggest using this pastry for simple galettes or tarts. If you're looking for pastry to make a decorative pie, use my Vodka Pie Crust or Vodka Pâte Brisée Pie Crust. 

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, additional for rolling

1 teaspoon flaky sea salt, such as Jacobsen Salt

12 tablespoons unsalted European style butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/2-inch cubes, I use Vermont Creamery European Cultured Butter with 86% butterfat

1/4 cup lard (or shortening)

1/4 cup cold water

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a large mixing bowl combine flour and sea salt. Add butter and break butter into the flour by pressing the butter between your index finger and thumbs using a slow snapping motion. It will create large chards of butter. Rotate through all the pieces of butter until they have all been flattened out and coated in flour to avoid clumps. Add the lard and continue to mix with your hands. Work quickly to prevent the butter from melting from the warmth of your hands. The mixture should look slightly lumpy.

  2. Add 1 tablespoon of cold water at a time and combine until the dough comes together. I used 1/4 cup of cold water. Chilled water using ice cubes is the most ideal, but cold filtered tap water is fine.

  3. Spread a thin dusting of bench flour and knead the dough just until it forms a ball. Avoid using too much bench flour and over kneading or the pastry will get tough. Cut the dough in half and wrap tightly in plastic wrap and form into a round or rectangle, based on your final desired shape. Chill in the fridge until ready for use. Bring to room temperature for a few minutes before rolling.

Note: European butter is different than regular butter, it has a high level of butterfat and will soften very easily. I typically keep this butter in the freezer until I'm ready to use it. At minimum keep it in the fridge. 

Pro Tip: Make a double batch of pie dough and label the plastic wrap with the date for a future use. You'll make your next pie in half the time. Freeze dough up to 3 months.

Vodka Pâte Brisée Pie Crust /  by Judy Kim

by Judy Kim

Vodka Pâte Brisée Pie crust

Yield: One 8 to 10-inch double-crust pie or two large half sheet pan galettes

This is a far cry from the pie dough recipe I remember as a kid. We used a recipe my Mom saved from a school bake sale, the recipe card was so cute. It was written on red construction paper in the shape of an apple and the recipe was made with pure Crisco. It guaranteed flaky results, but now I expect more from pie crust. Luckily I spent a fair amount of my previous career traveling to France, and like anyone that visits the Pâte Brisée motherland, you'll never turn down an all butter pastry. I wanted to create my own version of an all butter pie crust recipe, one that takes the anxiety out of pie making and is friendly for decorative pie making. Vodka is certainly not traditional to French baking, but I now use it regularly. This recipe yields an unusually pliable dough that is so much easier to roll out and handle. My first pie dough, Vodka Pie Crust is made with butter and shortening is even more fool proof, but similar, so it's really a matter of preference in terms of texture and flavor.

INGREDIENTS

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks, up to 2 sticks for extra buttery pastry), cut into 1/2-inch cubes and frozen in advance. I prefer Vermont Creamery European butter  

1/2 cup vodka

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon flaky sea salt, crushed by hand

DIRECTIONS

  1. Cut butter into 1/2-inch cubes and freeze overnight, minimum of 5 minutes if you're short on time.

  2. In a liquid measuring cup pour vodka, then add several ice cubes. Wait until vodka is chilled and remove ice. Most likely you'll reach 3/4 cup measurement from the melting ice cubes, but if not just add a touch of chilled water. If your vodka is frozen, just add 1/4 cup iced water.

  3. Combine flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add frozen butter and toss together quickly until each piece of butter is coated with the flour mixture, this will ensure an even dough. Break butter pieces apart if they are stuck together. Transfer to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade; pulse 2 to 3 times until the size of chickpeas.

  4. Pour vodka mixture through feed tube in a steady stream while constantly pulsing until dough begins to pull together. Avoid running the machine automatically or it may overmix. Butter and shortening should be about the size of dried lentils. Pro tip: Pour all the liquid into the feed tube, it's designed to stream an even amount and will help absorb all the flour evenly.

  5. Carefully turn dough out onto a very lightly floured work surface and remove the blade. Try to use no more than 1 tablespoon bench flour as flour can make the dough tough. Working on marble or granite countertop will help keep the dough cool. Note, the dough is slightly wet and more elastic than typical recipes. It's not necessary to knead the dough, just enough to pull it together with a few turns at the most.

  6. Divide dough in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and shape the dough into a round or rectangle. I find the dough will stay cooler if I shape it after wrapping and it reduces the need for additional bench flour. If you are using a round pie dish, shape dough into a flattened disk or rectangle if you are making a galette or lattice strips; this will help eliminate wastage. Refrigerate for minimum of 2 hours, preferably overnight.

  7. You can freeze the dough up to 3 months, just wrap well. If you have left over scraps I cut them into manageable pieces and wrap them in parchment paper and stack the pieces. The parchment will prevent them from sticking. Wrap in plastic wrap tightly and freeze to use for cut outs on a future pie.

**For decorative pie tips, read the notes written on my Vodka Pie Crust recipe.